Citywire
By Erin Norris and David S. Lewis |
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Casino Relocation Debacle Escalates
Ohio voters passed Issue 3 in November of last year, a constitutional amendment allowing the development of four casinos in four Ohio cities, including Columbus, but opponents comprised of local small-business owners, city government, and a coalition of powerful local corporations have negotiated with developer Penn National and found a middle ground: a resolution is being considered by the Ohio legislature that would move the constitutionally mandated site, currently in the Arena District, to the West Side, at the site of the former Delphi plant. Lawmakers have until February 3rd to place the resolution on the ballot; if it passes three fifths of both chambers, the state voters will decide whether to approve the measure in the May 3rd election.
Editor's Take: While casinos have been beneficial to some areas, I haven't heard of one being used to successfully gentrify a blighted neighborhood. Detroit is a familiar example of what not to do with a casino . . . any sort of entertainment venue placed in a bad neighborhood invites crime and instability. With Nationwide and the Columbus Dispatch's real estate arm the prime operators initiating the move, as well as the Dispatch's editorial wing and television news channel (10TV), I am not surprised that the casino was NIMBY'd out of their neighborhood - and into one without the means to resist.
The West Side has been devastated by closed businesses, foreclosure, and eviction. While I appreciate their overweening need for jobs, I think this is a terrible idea for their area and our city - which is poised to annex the Franklin Township location, as it is not currently part of Columbus. The city will still get the bulk of the tax benefits, only without the hassle of improved infrastructure and more downtown jobs. Makes perfect sense for the developers, however, who stand to increase the size of their parcel from 24 acres to well over 100, and gain the rights to master-plan the area for Franklin Township, as well. I will require much convincing before I am willing to amend the damned Constitution yet again, to move one structure six miles away. The document exists to provide a framework for statutory law. While I understand legalizing casinos required a retro-active framework (such as Issue 3), putting this new amendment before the entire state, let alone the nation, is embarrassing NIMBYism that seems likely to backfire.
City Council Holds Public Meeting; Adds $4.7 Million in Budget Amendments
Columbus City Council recently held a public budget meeting, adding 19 amendments to the spending plan for 2010. The amendments allocate additional funds to various areas of city service, most notably being $2.19 million for firefighter recruitment, in anticipation of widespread retirement in that department. Totaling $4.7 million, the amendments include additional monies for the Community Shelter Board, Franklin Park Conservatory, Crime Patrol, and the Recreation and Parks Restoration program. Also, $15 million will be added to the "Rainy Day Fund," a "savings account" of sorts that provides protection against deficit, and adds padding to the city's emergency funding.
Editor's Take: These adjustments are the result of City Auditor Hugh J. Dorrian re-evaluating the city's revenues budget earlier this year, and estimating that the income tax increase approved in August would earn slightly more for the city than initially predicted.
When the Mayor put the $655 million budget together, he noted that, although the effect of the .5-percent tax increase approved in August would earn over $84 million this year, "flat and/or declining revenues projected for the general fund's other major revenue sources in 2010 will mitigate the positive impact of the income tax increase." Coleman also predicted that the city would be able to make a $10 million "down payment" back into the depleted Rainy Day Fund, and that 2010 would see the City rebuilding some of the programs that were damaged or lost as a result of the plummeting national economy.
Good work, Mr. Mayor. I see $15 million for the fund, and actual steps being taken to restore cut programming and services. It seems you are trying to keep things even-keeled, as you promised, without actually increasing the size of the government. While I would rather the city had simply ran lean for a few years until we were out of the woods, I appreciate your efforts to stand by your words and your campaign.
Mysterious Ibiza Project to Resume as Apartment Complex
After three years, news has finally surfaced on Ibiza, the much-hyped condo project in the Short North, the ground of which is yet unbroken. Since plans were announced in 2006, there has been little information on the project's progress, leaving many to wonder if the empty lot at East Hubbard Avenue and North High Street was simply abandoned. However, APEX Realty recently released a statement claiming the stalled construction was a result of unforeseen lending complications, and that the project will commence - as an apartment complex. Reportedly, the mortgage crisis and harsh economic climate have made financing Ibiza as a condominium project nearly impossible, forcing the realtors to pursue a loan for an apartment complex instead. According to the statement, buyers will have their deposits refunded as soon as the company secures funding.
Editor's Take: This needs to be redressed, APEX. What net effect will this have on property owners in the area, as renter concentration generally has an effect on assessment values? This is among the many questions being raised by a frustrated neighborhood. The development is likely to receive the benefit of a 100-percent 10-year tax abatement, as well, as part of the Community Reinvestment Area applied to that section of the Short North, which encourages the developer to build, but is bad news for area schools in a hard-hit district. Rental space does not seem in line with what was promised by this project. APEX, make good on those refunds, and expeditiously.
Originally Published: February 1, 2010
